


Regalement

by xenosect



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Cannibalism, Gen, I dont really know how to tag??? ill add more stuff later as i go on lol, Minor Character Death, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, Supernatural!Reader - Freeform, Tags May Change, Wendigo, reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-04-17 14:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14191209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenosect/pseuds/xenosect
Summary: Ikebukuro was always a city that had danger lurking at every street corner. Although a serial killer being on the loose isn't that exciting for its standards, it seems like something is kicking the residents of Ikebukuro into another conflict. With the news of a cannibal on the rise, a young college student finds themselves in the middle of a spider's web, each struggle only bringing the threat of death closer to their doorstep.So how did they get in this mess in the first place?[ durarara! reader insert ]





	1. Crimes

**_Kanra:_ ** _Hello everybody!~_

 

 **_Tanaka Taro:_ ** _Hello Kanra!_

 

 **_Setton:_ ** _Hello Kanra._

  
_  
_ **_Kanra:_ ** Hey, hey, have you heard the news? It seems like something new has come to sweep Ikebukuro off its feet~

 

 **_Setton:_ ** _That sounds worrying!_

 

 **_Tanaka Taro:_ ** _I agree with Setton; what happened this time?_

  
_  
_ **_Kanra:_ ** Turns out there's a serial killer on the loose! The attacks have been random so far and the victims are always found torn to shreds in dark alleyways~~ Scary isn’t it!~

 

 **_Kanra:_ ** _But that isn’t even the most interesting part of the story! Police reports have said that huge chunks of the victims were missing, almost as if someone or_ **_something_ ** _has been eating them._

  
  


*

 

Fingers tapped away at the screen of a handheld device, as you absentmindedly maneuvered through the busy streets of Ikebukuro. You hummed quietly to the song currently running through your earbuds, subconsciously stepping in time with the beat.   
  
Your classes for the day had just ended and so you decided that you would roam through the shopping districts and maybe stop by your favorite cafe. It had been a while since you decided to treat yourself to self-proclaimed “self-care”, though you admitted to yourself that you had worked hard on your assignments so you deserved it. Although you knew it was a bit gluttonous to think so, with cash that you had earned from your recent paycheck, you could probably splurge a bit. 

All of your friends describe you as having a bottomless-pit for a stomach and you couldn't agree more. You had always bought the biggest portions or just an abnormal amount of food, but nothing could seem to satisfy your appetite. The familiar jingle of the bell above the cafe door (that you almost passed in your jovial walk) reminded you of the purpose of your journey in the first place. With a pleased smile on your face, you pivoted on your toe, turning to enter the small cafe you loved to spend hours in.

 

Inhaling the mix of sweet coffee and fragrant tea scent, you waved a hello to the barista and cashier, both of who you have been acquainted with because of your frequent visits.  Before you even opened your mouth, the kind-faced cashier had already rung up your usual, which brought a smile to your face.

 

“Could you add a slice of (f/cake) to that?” You asked with a brighter grin, excited to taste the amazingly decadent sweets that they produced in the shop.

 

You recalled the first time you found the cafe, unable to choose what kind of pastries to go along with your favorite drink, so you ended up ordering ten times more than you had expected. The cashier had only given an amused laugh, smile lines appearing as he rang up your order. After consuming the several pastries, you declared loudly that you would return many more times for the rest of your life for the wonderfully blended beverages and the perfectly sweetened pastries that paired nicely with what you had ordered.

 

The cashier gave a light chuckle, adding the cake to your order. “Is that all?” He asked, even though he knew that you would undoubtedly list off more pastries to add to the receipt.

 

Snorting you rested your hand on your hip with a glint in your (e/c) eyes. “Of course not! Who do you think I am, Takeshi?”

 

After listing out several more pastries, you inserted your card into the slot happily waiting for the moment to savor the delicious treats that you purchased. Takeshi handed you the receipt and cheerfully mentioned that he would bring your beverage and your sweets to you shortly. So you then glanced around for an open table before seating yourself at a table by the window, so you could do a bit of people watching before heading out and doing some shopping for groceries and other necessities. Swinging your legs as you speculated the lives of the many figures walking by the window, you spotted the familiar glare of yellow clothing at the corner of the streetlight.

  
You recalled your friends cautioning you about the rise of a color gang named the “Yellow Scarves”, but to your chagrin, couldn’t remember the rest of the conversation. Furrowing your brows at the blank in your memories, you wondered if they had said anything else important about the city of Ikebukuro. 

Ikebukuro was still a rather new experience to you since you had moved to the bustling city after getting accepted into the college near that high-end high school. Racking your brain for a name for the high school near your campus, you didn’t hear the approaching footsteps at your table. Hearing a small _clink_ against the polished table, your head jerked towards the direction it came from, only to see the familiar grin of Takeshi. 

“Sorry for scaring you like that, but here’s your order,” he said, placing the rest of the plates that were balancing on his hands and forearms on the table. 

“Oh, it’s alright! It was my fault for getting so lost in my thoughts like that.” You said with a goofy grin, already picking up the fork that was placed beside you. “Thanks for the food!”

 

Takeshi replied with a cheery laugh before walking away to assist the other customers in the shop. Your eyes roamed back towards the window, enjoying your beverage and the pastries as you watched the setting sun shrink under the skyscrapers of Ikebukuro. The sun had cast the city into a passionate, blood red light, but everyone remained ignorant of the breath-taking beauty that it had presented to the world.  
  
*

A wiry man cheerfully walked through the streets lined with twinkling lights, humming quietly to himself. He had a skip in his step that was paired with a small smirk, which only alerted people who knew him that he was up to no good. Not that he ever did any good in the first place though.

Hearing a small ping from his phone, Izaya Orihara fished the hand-held device out of the pockets of his overcoat, scrolling through the miscellaneous messages that filled it. Tapping on the unread chat box, he quickly scanned through the contents, laughing to himself whenever he found the text entertaining. Typing out a teasing reply, the informant slipped the phone back into his pocket, hearing a low growl approaching his position.  
  
“Shizu-chan!~~ It’s nice to see your monstrous face again~” Izaya smirked, heavy sarcasm lacing his voice.

 

A man dressed in a bartender’s uniform clicked his tongue in annoyance, forcefully grabbing the nearest object, ripping it from its stationary place rooted in the cement. Shifting the bench that he had lifted on to his shoulders, the blonde let out another low growl.   
  
“What did I say about seeing you in Ikebukuro again?” He narrowed his eyes, tensing his arms to throw the bench at this _conniving_ man before him.   
  
“That’s mean, Shizu-chan~ After all, I used to be a resident here, was I not?” Izaya only offered a shit-eating grin, only managing to provoke ‘Shizu-chan’ more.   
  
With the pop of a vein, ‘Shizu-chan’ lost his temper (not that he could ever keep his temper around _Izaya_ , that damned flea), throwing the metal park bench at his tormentor. Izaya only let out a loud laugh, dodging the outdoor furniture that was flung his way. The informant was prepared to draw his own weapon before hearing a shrill shriek coming from the abyss of a nearby alleyway.

  
The odd duo turned towards the noise, distracted by the sudden interruption. Shizuo Heiwajima (the man with the endearing nickname of ‘Shizu-chan’), cast a sideways glance towards Izaya, sending a silent truce to their battle. Izaya only gave a smirk in return as they both made their way towards the source of the noise.  
  
What they found was not at all what they expected. Blood was sprayed everywhere on the walls of the narrow space, the internal organs (one could only assume) spilling over the sides of the truly, _unfortunate_ victim. Shizuo almost gagged, his hand brought to his mouth to avoid his own internal fluids from spilling out. Izaya only wore his signature smirk, excited for a new player to enter his little game. The black haired informant stepped closer, spotting a stained shopping bag with freshly spilled blood dripping from it. Forcing his gaze back to the mangled corpse, his grin grew wider as he saw a gaping _hole_ starting from right below the neck, all of the way to the middle of the person’s torso.   
  
Pulling out his phone to take a couple of snaps of the gory scene, he switched over to a notes app, typing down some of the key objects in the crime. After he finished, Izaya stood up, humming happily at this sudden intervention of his game. Turning to leave, he patted Shizuo’s shoulder, who was still trying to process what he had seen, before practically _skipping_ out of the alleyway.   
  
“Looks like we have a mystery on our hands, my dear _Shizu-chan_ ~”


	2. Pursuit

You were on your way home from the grocery store and _you could’ve sworn that you’ve picked up what you needed before_ but was only left with yet another blank in your memory. The city had really come to life as soon as the night threw its blanket over the twinkling light. With a faint smile present on your face, you recalled the days back at your old residence where the light pollution wasn’t as heavy, so the stars glittered high above the treelines. Although you missed those quiet, serene nights of stargazing, the city life was just as nice, for there was nothing that wouldn’t make you absolutely excited.   
  
Ever since you moved to Ikebukuro, your friends had only spoke of the supernatural events that plagued the city, warning you of every little person or event that might occur if you were unlucky enough. You never paid too much mind to their warnings, however, only cheerfully saying that it only added to the _adventures_  you would have while living here. With a hop in your step, you hummed a silly tune, blissfully enjoying the brisk night air that caressed where your skin was exposed.   
  
That’s when you heard it. The soft whirr of a motorbike, followed by a whinny? You turned towards the source of the sound before hearing what clearly sounded like an equine’s call. You could barely see it among the passing cars and the darkness that the night had brought with her. Only by the faint glow of the full moon hanging in the sky were you able to see the _Black Rider_. Your eyes widened in awe, a faint tingle of anticipation ran up your spine. You weren’t even fully aware of your own actions as you saw the motorcycle whizz by, only spurred by the thought that _you had to experience that again._  
  
And so you ran. You ran as fast as your legs could take you, your arms pumping back and forth as you attempted to chase after the urban legend of the Black Rider, the Headless Rider. Whatever their alias was, you could hardly care less. _All you wanted was to experience that thrill of coming close to a mythical being._ For some reason, you could feel a nostalgic wave creep up in your mind. The soft hum of a bike, with that familiar whinny of a horse. Keeping your eyes situated on the form of the Black Rider, you let out a heavy puff of air, trying your best to close the distance between you and the bike. Sweat started to form on your temple and you had a fleeting thought about the aftermath of your crazy dash. Boy, would you regret it the next day. Regardless, you darted through the bustling crowd of Ikebukuro, apologizing quickly if you accidentally bumped into someone, still refusing to let this supernatural legend leave your sight.   
  
That’s where it hit you. Quite literally, you would later add as you retold your story to your horrified friends. You ran straight-first into a body, making a groan at the impact. When you snapped out of your small daze, you let out a small screech, already seeing your target slipping under the cover of darkness. Slumping your shoulders in defeat, you picked up the crumpled bag of your groceries before getting ready to leave wherever the hell you were. Realizing that you were clearly lost after chasing the Headless Rider, you panicked internally, cursing yourself for not thinking about the consequences of your impulsive actions. Biting your nails, you looked around, trying to look for any landmark that looked remotely familiar.  
  
“Aren’t you going to apologize for crashing into me like that?”  
  
Hearing a smooth voice roll through your train of thought, you turned to the speaker (who was also an unfortunate victim of your impulses). Your eyes took in their form; a lean, but certainly not bony, body clothed in all black and a comfortable looking fur coat. Observing their face, you realized that they had almost crimson colored eyes if they were hit by just the right light. This person seemed rather attractive, you subconsciously thought, not realizing that you were once again lost in your thoughts and hadn’t replied at all to what they said.  
  
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer~” The man grinned, waving a hand in front of your face to grab your attention.   
  
You felt your face twist into a disgusted expression, sticking out your tongue at the terrible and overused joke. 

 

“That was distasteful as hell,” you replied, sending a suspicious look towards the stranger.   
  
“Haha, my bad, my bad.” He grinned--- no, smirked as he held out a hand to shake, “I am Orihara Izaya, it’s nice to meet you.”

 

Taking his hand, you gave a small nod, wondering where you had heard that name before. Your brain threw random places and people of where you might’ve heard it from before it came to you like a lightning strike. Hitting a closed fist against your open palm, like a silly way of showing ‘Eureka!’ you bluntly blurted out your memory.   
  
“You’re the one that everyone says is like the devil wearing human skin as clothing!” You grinned, glad that you finally remembered something among the jumbled thoughts that ran rampant through your brain.   
  
Though you later noted, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to say that thought out loud, since Izaya Orihara, the one many people told you was trouble, was standing right in front of you. Suddenly you realized the situation that you had thrown yourself in and you cringed internally. You might’ve made the biggest mistake of your short life.   
  
Sweating bullets, you could see the smirk on Izaya’s face grow wider, but it definitely wasn’t out of a positive emotion. With irritation laced through his voice, the black-haired man cheerfully laughed, though it clearly sounded fake.   
  
“So you know of me, huh?” Izaya’s grin only grew more menacing, before he let out a small sigh. “I suppose I would seem that way to those who’ve made an enemy of me.” He shrugged, his pose giving off a more casual feel.   
  
Laughing nervously, you felt your shoulders relax a bit, not realizing that you had them tensed in the first place. You decided right there and then that you would be a _little_ more careful with your words if you ever encountered him again. Not that you wanted to, of course. You finally realized the weight of your friend's warnings and apologized mentally, asking them to forgive you for ignoring their wise words.   
  
“I’m sorry for crashing into you like that,” you bowed, hopefully staying on his good side, “I was in a bit of a rush.” Letting out another nervous laugh, you stood up, playing with the edges of the grocery bag in your hands.   
  
“I could tell. You weren’t chasing after _the Black Rider_ , were you?” Izaya continued to have a wide smirk plastered on his visage, which made you wonder if he had some sort of a mask on.   
  
Offering a nervous grin in return, you nodded, tucking a stray hair from your hasty dash behind your ear. “I was… You don’t happen to know where they are… do you?”   
  
You knew that Orihara was an informer of sorts and you weren’t sure if he knew of stuff like this, but something told you that he did. That being said, it wouldn’t hurt to ask, _would it?_   
  
Orihara only replied with a sly grin, something that you knew that you would have to get used to. He grabbed your wrist, humming an odd yet nostalgic tune as he dragged you to who knows where.

  
  
*

 

“You aren’t going to take me to some secluded place and murder me are you?” You asked with slight concern since being dragged off by a stranger was not at the top of your bucket list (and nor would it ever be).   
  
“No, of course not!~ I’m just here to get you started on your little journey to meet the _Black Rider._ I don’t usually do favors for free, but I think I might let you be the exception.” Izaya elaborated his plan, making his long strides smaller so you didn’t have to jog to keep up with him.  
  
You observed the back of the informant’s head, watching his ebony hair bounce up and down with every step he took. Although you could feel a menacing and dangerous aura emanating from his lithe form, you knew it would be beneficial if you could become on good terms with the man. After all, you could probably pry a whole bunch of information about anything exciting that could be happening within the city. Feeling your face pull into a giant grin, you eagerly awaited whatever Izaya had in store for you.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is a bit slow, I promise that things will start to kick up soon ;)


	3. Rendevous

The black-haired informant had led you to the heart of Ikebukuro’s West Gate Park, but his attention was more focused on typing rapidly on his phone. You wondered if Izaya got distracted from his original goal, which was to lead you to the Black Rider, but knowing the rumors about him, you knew he was planning _something_ at the very least. Your eyes followed Izaya’s actions, watching how the light from the phone flickered onto his face as he grinned at whatever was on the screen.

        “I just contacted the Black Rider, so it’ll only be a little bit before they arrive.” Izaya said with a smile, leading you to a bench lit by a lamp.  
  
        “Thank you so much for doing this for me,” You bowed, before taking a seat on the seat that Izaya had gestured to.  
  
        “It’s nothing~ However, you do owe me a couple of favors: one for when you crashed into me and one for setting up a meeting with the Black Rider. You know that someone like me doesn’t do things for free.” He hummed, sliding his phone into his pocket as he rocked back and forth on his heels.  
  
        “So what can I do in return?” You asked, praying that it wasn’t something like an extreme amount of money or some impossible task that would destroy your chances at a peaceful life forever.  
  
        Izaya laughs, taking his hands out of his pocket as he slowly pranced around the bench that you were seated on.

        “I don’t want anything from you right now, but I would like you to promise that you’ll do two small favors for me in the future.” He paused, now standing right in front of you for a dramatic effect.  
  
        Internally, you thought that he was being extremely extra, but you decided to keep it to yourself so you wouldn’t get stabbed or something... It was so easy to let your guard around someone who was such a drama queen,  but you internally prepared yourself to be a more selective with what you say and do. You closed your eyes in deep thought, wondering what secrets you had to hide from Izaya so you wouldn’t get blackmailed into anything. As per usual, however, your mind already began to wander to the different restaurants that you should go to before you die after being blackmailed by Izaya.  
  
        “Ah, the Black Rider~ Thanks for coming on such a short notice.”

        You snapped out of your train of thought, turning your head to the newly arrived. Gasping quietly, you jumped out of your seat almost running towards the urban legend you had come to know as the Black Rider. Ignoring Izaya as you passed him, you took the motorcyclist’s hands in your own, shaking them rapidly.

        “It is such an honor to meet you!” You gushed, beaming with delight.

        It was not everyday that you got to meet a supernatural being like the Headless Rider and the fact that they were standing right in front of you almost made you feel like fainting.  
  
        “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how do you see and interact with the environment? Since you have no head, how are you able to see, hear, or smell anything? Also how do you eat? Do you even need to eat? I suppose you would need some sort of sustenance to function but since you have no head..?” You busted out question after question, your eyes sparkling with curiosity.  
  
        The Black Rider held out their hand, asking you to stop the barrage of questions. Suddenly stopping your burning questions, you covered your hands with your mouth, feeling your face grow hot out of embarrassment.  
  
        “!! I’m so sorry for running my mouth off like that!” You bowed quickly, apologizing for not noticing their discomfort at your questions.

 

        The figure before you pulled out a PDA from their jacket sleeve, rapidly tapping on the keyboard to form a message. They had placed it in front of your face, tapping your shoulder so you would look up.  
  
        Forming an ‘O’ with your mouth, you read through the typed out message, straightening your position.

 

_‘Don’t worry about it! I was just a bit surprised that someone wanted to know so much about me and wasn’t just scared, haha. You can just call me Celty!’_

 

        “Celty, huh?” You pondered a bit, rubbing your chin as you thought. “Sounds foreign. But I think it has a cute charm to it!”  
  
        You grinned, feeling elated that you got to meet her and might be able to call her a friend. Celty seemed to be embarrassed, her hands shaking slightly as she typed out a new message.  
  
 _‘Cute!?’_

        She held out her PDA with clear disbelief, before retracting her arm and rapidly typing out a new message.

 _‘You can’t just say something like that!!’_  
  
        You laugh at the flustered Celty, grabbing her hands and lacing your fingers with her free hand.  
  
        “I hope we can be good friends, my dear Cel-Cel!” Giving the widest grin, you held up your interlaced hands like a mini-salute to the start of a new found friendship.  
  
        Celty only seemed to grow more and more flustered, using her thumb to type out an embarrassed reply to your bubbliness.  
  
 _‘Cel-Cel???’_

 

*

 

        The two of you sat at a bench, with you animatedly talking to her as Celty replied cheerfully with her PDA. She was shocked at first and a little bit embarrassed at your energetic and outgoing personality, but she really enjoyed talking with you. Celty also answered a couple of your questions, explaining how she didn’t really know how she could sense the world around her, but her boyfriend had suggested that it was due to the black smoke that she emitted.  
  
        At the mention of this, you asked if you could see under her helmet, curious to see her head-lessness. She seemed reluctant at first, even asking you to try not to scream. You were not scared of the unknown and supernatural and you would even go far to say that you were _drawn_ to it. It was always fun learning about new things and Celty’s existence only proved many of your theories and the supernatural events that you’ve experienced before.  
  
        After nodding to her terms, you watched with sparkling eyes as she flipped up her visor. You peered in, almost squealing in delight as you saw her absence of a head.  
  
        “Celty, you’re so beautiful! Stunning even~” You exclaimed excitedly, pumping your fists in delight.  
  
 _‘Stop saying things like that!!! I don’t even have a head, so how could you even deduce that???”_ Celty typed out furiously, shoving the PDA in your face.

 

        Giggling gleefully, you clapped your hands together at Celty’s embarrassment. “If you didn’t have a boyfriend, I would’ve asked you out as soon as I saw you~” You hummed giving a Cheshire-like grin as Celty threatened to slap you.  
  
        The dullahan bopped you on the head softly, typing out another protest at your light teasing.  
  
 _‘You’re so eerily similar to Shinra… I swear if I didn’t just met you, I would have smacked you so hard…’_

        Letting out a fake whine, you clung to Celty asking her to forgive you for your mischievous nature. Celty pushed you away with her hand on your cheek, only making you more distraught. Opening your eyes to sneak a peek at Celty’s new message, you suddenly realize the time.  
  
        “Oh crap!”

        You quickly scramble up, picking up your grocery bags that you had set next to the bench.  
  
        “I’m really sorry Celty, but I really got to go! I have morning classes tomorrow so I need to get home!” You quickly bowed, turning to jog back to your apartment.

 

        Giving a big grin and a wave, you whoop as you run home, still living off of the high of meeting a beautiful supernatural being. Celty waved at your figure until it had disappeared into the crowds of Ikebukuro, before getting off of the bench. Brushing the dust from her leather pants, she began to walk back to her parked motorcycle.  
  
        “Celty~” Oh. She forgot that Izaya was still there even after the long conversation that she had with (name).  
  
 _‘What do you need Izaya?’_  She typed out, showing the screen to the info broker.  
  
        “I just want to know what you think of them~ Quite an interesting character don’t you think?”  
  
        Tilting her head, Celty thought back at her entire meeting with (name) before typing out her reply on the PDA.  
  
 _‘They were really energetic for sure. But I feel something dangerous around them…Like… I’m not really sure how to put it in words but something definitely seems_ ** _off_** _.’_  
  
        Celty felt bad about writing such ill words against her new friend, but it was still really strange to feel that away with a mere human.

        Izaya only hummed in contemplation, his smile giving off an inquisitive look.  
  
        “Thank you for your feedback, Celty. That’s all for now” The info broker said, waving his hand goodbye to the transporter.

        “I’ll contact you again soon~”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really struggling with this chapter at first but i slowly got it to where i wanted it to be! there was a lot of dialogue in this one,, but hopefully ill be able to speed up the action in the story soon 


	4. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the players meet the newest piece in the game

      **// TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of blood, gore, etc.**

 

* * *

 

        You chewed the end of your brush, contemplating what hues and shades you should mix next. Your current assignment was to paint an abstraction of a personal experience and you weren’t having an easy time. It sucked that your memory was rather weak compared to others, for you always have _blackout_ moments where your brain fails to bring up any recent thought or action. It was rather a hassle because sometimes you found yourself covered with different colors of paint and _boy_ was it a pain to get cleaned out.  
  
        Taking some of the vibrant violet and some of the crimson red, you tested the new color by swatching your mixture on to your palette. Humming quietly to yourself, you wondered if it would complement the current color palette on your canvas. You felt your leg start to tap as you crossed your arms in silent thought. It was so hard to decide what you wanted to depict, especially with your terrible memory of anything before the ripe old age of 14. Sometimes you wondered if you were actually a grandpa in disguise with your forgetful mind and the occasional creaky joints.

  
_CLAP_

 

        Startled out of your thoughts, you hear your professor announce the end of class. Quickly gathering your things, you set your painting in the corner of the studio so it can dry. Humming happily to yourself, you decide to head to a cafe after class, hoping to sketch up some new ideas and compositions for more personal work. Practically skipping out of the room you put on your headphones, jamming happily to your mix.  
  
        You maneuvered through the crowd with practiced ease, all the while stepping in time with the beat of your favorite song. Humming quietly to yourself, you turned the corner, wondering what kind of desserts you should try today. Unfortunately for you, when you had turned the corner, you failed to see the rather short boy turning the same way. So with a loud ‘oof’, you had bumped into the other, causing your headphones to drop from your head.

        “Hey, I’m sorry about that, you good?” After getting up and brushing the dirt from your pants, you held out your hand, concerned for the person on the ground.  
  
        “Yeah, don’t worry about it.” He replied, taking your hand in a firm grip.

        The boy, you observed, had dark blue hair, which made you curious if he had gotten it dyed or if it was just like in one of those manga with protagonists with unnatural natural colored hair.

        “I’m (name). What’s your name, kid?”  
  
        The boy looked offended for a second before his visage changed to a cheerful smile. “My name is Aoba Kuronuma but you can just call me Aoba.”  
  
        He had quite a charming smile, you noted, but there was a dangerous air around him. It felt like a quiet, bubbling danger, something that you wouldn’t take note of until the kettle boiled over. It reminded you of a certain person you had met rather recently… Ah yes. This boy reminded you of Izaya, the notorious informant surrounded by a carefully spun spider web.

        You decided that you would be careful around the kid, but then you thought _What could a high school kid ever do to me?_

        Returning the boy’s smile, you ruffled his hair playfully silently laughing at his rather short stature.

        “Hey, let me treat you to some cake as an apology for bumping into you like that.” You said, gesturing with your hand for him to follow you.  
  
        Aoba looked surprised before nodding his head in agreement.

        “Sure.”

 

*

 

        Aoba’s coat fluttered behind him as he exited the cafe, humming quietly to himself. He didn’t expect to be suddenly brought to a cafe by basically a stranger, but it was a good time. (Name) was extremely kind, buying him whatever he wanted (but he tried to not get so much since he learned that (Name) was still a college student). The blue-haired boy had learned a lot about them and he found it surprisingly easy to talk to them about pretty much anything. But he was definitely shocked when the college student had asked him if they could use him as a reference in their paintings. He noticed that they were carrying a bag full of art supplies when they had first bumped into each other, so he could’ve just connected the dots.

        He let the artist take several pictures of him, even though he was extremely embarrassed by it. Remembering the joyful childish grin that (Name) had before taking their prized Polaroid camera out of their bag made him snort quietly. They were extremely adamant about taking a picture together, saying that it was a _fated meeting_ and so the two of them posed for the camera. Aoba looked at the developed polaroid in his hand, smiling to himself. Hopefully, he would be able to hang out with them again after it was all over. _They were too good for this awful city._

        As the sun set over the bustling city, Aoba turned the corner to meet up with his friends, preparing for the next step in their newest project.  
  
*  
  
        Anri walked under the moon, occasionally passing under a street-light. She had just finished grocery shopping and was scrolling through the group chat that a user named Kanra had created. Wondering if anything new happened, the girl decided to join the chat.

 

* * *

 

_[Saika joined the Chatroom]_

 

 _**Kanra:**_ Anyone who is outside right now, be safe~~ I heard that the serial killer is most active during this time!

 

[Private Chatroom] **_Setton:_** Anri, you’re not out at this time, are you? I know you usually do your shopping around now…

 

 _**Saika:**_ Ah.

 _**Saika:**_ I just finished shopping as a matter of fact.

 _**Kanra:** _ Oh? Are you still having trouble with the private chat room feature, Saika?

 _**Setton:** _ We should really teach you how to do that soon…

 _**Setton:** _ Anyway, try to get home safe. Stick to bright and crowded areas!

 _**Saika:**_ I will. Thank you.

 _**Setton:** _ I’ll have to go now, stay safe everyone.  
  
_[Setton left the Chatroom]_

 **Saika:** I guess I’ll go as well. Excuse me.  
  
_[Saika left the Chatroom]_

 _ **Kanra:** _ Wahh!! Everyone ignored me >:(

 ** _Kanra:_** I guess I’ll have to go find something to do as well…  
  
_[Kanra left the Chatroom]_

_[There is no one in the Chatroom…]_

 

* * *

 

        Anri closed her phone, tucking it into the pocket of her hoodie dress. She wasn’t too worried about coming across a serial killer since she did have Saika to protect her, but she was a little concerned. She wasn’t in the chat when they had talked about it, but when she looked through the chat history, the way that Kanra had described the victims left her feeling nauseous.  
  
_She hoped she didn’t have to come across them anytime soon._

        As she turned the corner of the building that’s when she heard it. The low growl that reverberated through her bones. Anri felt a chill run down her spine, her hands clamming up. At some point, a strange fog had rolled in, covering the city in such thickness that she could barely see the twinkling lights of the nearby buildings.  
  
        She took a step forward, cautious of anything near her. Huffing and panting filled her ears, followed by the _sickening_ rip. It wasn’t like the ripping of paper or even the ripping of clothes. Anri had heard this before. A long time ago, to a time that she doesn’t want to remember.

_The ripping of flesh._

        The girl felt her throat constrict, her breathing growing unsteady. But some unknown force pushed her to walk forward, maybe to try to convince to herself that it was not the sound she thought it was and just a stray cat eating fish that a kind samaritan gave them. In her heart, she knew. That sound was far too loud to just be a cat and a fish would not have lasted this long.

        Taking a shaky step forward, her clammy hand gripped the plastic bag, her other hand preparing to draw Saika from her arm if needed. Anri continued her slow trudge forward, shuddering at every sound that came from that dark alley. She was at the corner now. One more step and she would uncover whatever was happening in this alleyway cursed by shadows. It didn’t register at first, for she was so concentrated on building up her nerves to face whatever nightmare that was projected onto the quiet streets of Ikebukuro.

 

_It was silent._

 

        Anri didn’t realize it at first but it had been quiet for a long

                                                                                                          long

                                                                                                                            time.

 

        The silence was unbearably suffocating and she had held her breath long before she realized it herself. Taking a tentative step forward, she froze.

 

        Even under the cover of darkness, she could see the empty _abyss_ that was the creature’s eyes. It sucked her in with a terrifying coldness that could be even be compared to Saika’s thoughts, but far less quiet. Her eyes ripped away from those black holes that could erase her from existence without a single regret, gradually moving her gaze to take in the rest of the massive beast.

        It was reminiscent of an extremely large wolf, or maybe a hyena? with those hungry eyes and the blood. _And oh god, the blood._ The creature was covered in it, the poor nondescript mangled figure behind it was clearly its previous victim. _She was next._

        The moon seemed to sense the overwhelming fear that washed over her body as the light brightened so she could see the full horror of this... _monster._

        It was in fact like a giant, bear-like wolf, but without the regalness that a normal canine had. The head wasn’t even what she had ever imagined, for it was a piercing off-white _skull_ with towering antlers that were dripping with the sticky red substance she hated so. The teeth were gleaming with stains of crimson blood and traces of human flesh still stuck in between the nonexistent gums. It had a tail as well, but not fluffy like dogs. No, not at all. The tail was completely constructed of bones with a gleaming sharp tip that could rip her body to pieces.

        In an odd way, this creature was eerily beautiful. Although most of the creature was composed of bone, the body and torso almost seemed like a normal wolf. The fur was glossy but some patches were matted with blood and the way the moon had shone on the head of the beast gave it the regal look that she had previously thought wasn’t there.

        It was gorgeous. Although it smelled like rotting flesh and its bones showed through its fur, there was some part of it that made her almost want to die at the claws of this creature. Her hand gripped the bag she was holding and although the creature had no pupils, she could sense that it was following her every movement. Every shallow breath she took, every gentle movement of her hair, every blink of the eye.

 

        _She was captivated._

 

        Anri swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a step back. A low guttural growl rose from the creature’s form, its jaw glistening with saliva.

        And in the fraction of the second, she tried to turn to run, the creature had moved.

        Painfully hitting the pavement, Anri cried out for the first time in a long time, fear engulfing her body as she was pinned to the ground by the beast’s bone-breaking claws. Having the breath knocked out of her, Anri could only weakly struggle under her predator.

 

        The creature only glared down with only the eyes that she described as _insatiable hunger_.

 

        She squeezed her eyes shut as the hot breath of this faux _serial killer_ fanned her face. This was it.

        Anri could feel the saliva from this monster drip down, staining the sleeve of her jacket as its mouth opened wider and wider.  
  
        Then the sudden screech of rubber tires against the asphalt road was the last thing she heard as she passed out from the sheer weight of the beast on top of her.

 

        Black spread across her vision like ink worming its way through paper and all she could think of was how _those eyes held something far more humane than anyone would think._

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // Hey y'all!! sorry for the 3 week break, i was super busy with school and then had an overseas trip :000 im back now and im super excited for whats going to happen next !!! this chapter was a bit longer than usual, so i hope you don't mind :0!!


	5. Recuperation + Sushi Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which a girl recovers and a sushi date occurs

_‘I hope this won’t make you uncomfortable, but could you tell me what happened last night?’_

 

Anri nursed the warm cup of tea in her hands, still a bit shaky from last night’s encounter. Celty worriedly adjusted the wooly blanket that she had placed over the girl’s shoulders. After hearing that Anri was out when the supposed _serial killer_ was most active, the dullahan took off on her bike so she could at least escort the student home safely. She was surprised, to say the least when the late night fog dissipated and all that was left was an unconscious Anri with tattered clothes.

 

At first, she thought it was some...unsatisfactory person, but there was no way a _mere human_ could make the damage that was caused. Especially since right behind Anri was the remains of a victim that was so mangled, that it was impossible to even try to identify the body. _That was certainly not caused by anything humane._ And she knew that Anri was fully capable of taking care of herself since she does wield Saika after all, so something was definitely not adding up.

 

So Celty brought the girl back to her apartment, asking Shinra to treat the bruises that started to form on the girl’s shoulders. After wrapping any open wounds in bandages, they put her in their guest room, hoping for a fast recovery. Which brought them back to the present. Since Anri had woken up from her blackout, Celty had fixed her a cup of tea, hoping to learn how the student was left battered in an alley late at night.

 

“Well… I was walking home as I said in the group chat.” Anri started, fiddling with the handle of the mug, trying to recall as much as she could about the event.   
  
Although Anri knew that she was overcome with emotions (which was not something that happened easily), she found it weird that she could barely get out a word about the entire experience.  
  
“I heard something?” She paused, pushing up her glasses as she desperately sought any information about the event to supply her friend.

 

“I remember going to check it out but I couldn’t make anything out since it was so foggy. It seems that I can’t remember much from in between then and when you found me…” The girl apologized, feeling awful about being the only survivor to survive the serial killer.   
  
_‘Ah, please don’t stress out about it Anri! I’m sure we’ll catch this serial killer soon.”_ Celty had quickly typed out on her PDA, already beginning to write out a new message for Anri to see.  
  
 _‘For now, you should stay at our apartment for the day so we can check up on you. We can contact your school later to say that you were feeling unwell.’_  

 

Gently patting her shoulder, Celty got up from her spot next to Anri, using her PDA to send out a quick message to Izaya. She had to get as much information as she could on this serial killer so _they would not hurt any of her friends again._  
  
*

 

You woke up in your apartment. Alone in your darkened room. Like it has always been, even from the very beginning. Cursing your past self for deciding to sleep in the clothes from the day before, you groggily got up from your mattress, running a hand through your tangled and rather matted hair. As you opened your curtains to shed some light on your messy and disheveled bedroom, a small hiss rose from your throat, covering your eyes from the sudden change in brightness. Deciding that your hair was far too greasy, you pulled yourself towards the bathroom, a sleepy yawn running through your lips.   
  
It was just like any other day. You wake up feeling exhausted and you can’t ever remember a single thing from the night before or how you got home. Although you felt like you should be concerned with your terrible memory, it was something that you had to deal with for your entire life, so you were used to it. Though it was rather a nuisance since these blackout moments could cause you to miss an entire day of class or leave you with no time to finish your homework at all.

 

As you turned the knob of the shower, you stripped down to the nude, tossing your dirty clothes into your laundry basket haphazardly. You stuck your hand underneath the shower head, testing the water to see if it was the perfect temperature. When you felt that the water was pleasantly lukewarm, you began to wash the old dried paint off of your skin. Once you had finished your shower, you wrapped a fluffy towel around you before going to find something to eat.   
  
You almost dropped your plate of leftover pancakes when you realized that it was 1:37 pm which meant that you had basically missed all of your classes. Sighing to yourself, you plopped on to your couch, quietly eating your “breakfast”. This wasn’t the first occasion of oversleeping or just missing school in general.

 

Deciding that you were still hungry, adding the fact that you also didn’t feel like cooking anything yourself, you took it upon yourself to find a restaurant to eat at for lunch. So you pulled on some outside clothes and grabbed your wallet and keys, wondering what you were in the mood to eat. Before you left your small apartment, you snuck a peek at the mirror, making sure that you looked _presentable_. Grabbing a black baseball cap, you straightened out your jean jacket and shorts before closing and locking your door.

 

*

 

After walking around the streets of Ikebukuro, you finally decided on a small restaurant on the corner of a small intersection. _Russia Sushi_. You noticed that there was a tall black man handing out flyers that people clearly didn’t want. Or maybe it was the fact that this man towered over everyone and everyone was too scared to approach or talk to him. Adjusting the baseball cap on your head, you made your way over to the employee, quickly noticing his thick Russian accent.

 

“Welcome, welcome~ Please come to Russia Sushi!” He had a large grin on his face, happily offering coupon flyers to anyone who passed by.

 

“Hello!” You chirped, waving a hand at this tall hulk of a man.

 

“Oh, little miss! You want to eat sushi? It’s good. I’ll give you a discount. Sushi’s good.” He asked in his broken Japanese, holding out a coupon from the large stack he had in his other hand.

 

“I do!!” You smiled back, taking the paper with a small bow. In all honesty, you thought this employee was rather cute, with his polite actions and poor Japanese skills, but you could see why people could be intimidated at first.

 

“Please come in! Sushi’s good~” The man pushed you gently to the storefront, sliding the traditional like door open.

 

“Welcome!” You heard a gruff voice from the back of the counter, to which you offered a smile.

 

The escorter offered you a table at the bar, where the man who just greeted you was standing. As they handed you a menu and a glass of water, you quickly browsed through the menu, wondering what you should get. It was certainly a strange type of cuisine, a fusion of Russian and Japanese dishes. Deciding to be a bit bold, you chose a couple of dishes that sounded more Russian and some of your favorite sashimi and nigiri plus some new types that you had never heard of in a classic sushi restaurant.

 

You later found out that the man who had escorted you in was named Simon and the man currently making you nigiri was Denis. You had quickly hit it up with the two, laughing at Simon’s silly catchphrases and the various stories that had happened at the restaurant.

 

As you happily consumed the weird, but delicious Russian sushi, you heard the door slide open, making you turn your head.

 

_Oh yuck._

 

“Oh is that who I think it is?” A voice crooned and you could almost _hear_ the smirk in his voice.

 

Sticking your tongue at Izaya, you went back to your meal, asking for another helping of sushi.

 

“Shouldn’t you be at _school_ , (Name)-chan?~” The man grinned, taking the bar stool right next to you. Izaya took a break from pestering you for a second, ordering his beloved fatty tuna.

 

“That’s none of your business, _Iza-chan._ ” You grumbled, a little unhappy that he was interrupting your lunch.

 

Izaya seemed a bit annoyed with your sudden use of a “cutesy” nickname but only smiled mirthlessly to show that it was _not_ a good idea to call him by that. Coughing quietly into your arm, you only smiled uneasily. You should really learn to watch your tongue around Izaya before you got yourself killed. Laughing nervously to yourself, you shut yourself up by shoving another piece of nigiri in your mouth.

 

“Anyway, I would love to learn more about you--”

 

“Ah, ah ah,” Shaking your finger in front of the info broker’s face, you gladly interrupted whatever he had to say. “If you want to talk to me, then you’ll have to buy me everything on the menu.”

 

“That’s a lot of money to get some information out of you,” Izaya said, his smile quickly changing to an unamused expression.

 

“Well I know you’re rich so pay or you’ll never get another word out of me.” You went back to your meal, happily finishing the stuff that you had ordered yourself. Secretly, you grinned to yourself, glad for the opportunity to get a free meal. Even if you didn’t know why Izaya wanted so much info about you, it didn’t really matter in the end because you _knew_ there wasn’t anything noteworthy about you. You were just an average college student, majoring in art, almost always starving and poor.   
  
Thanking Denis as he placed many more plates of food in front of you, you observed the info broker out of the corner of your eye, watching him reluctantly pay for everything on the menu. Making a dramatic turn towards Izaya, you rested your hand against your cheek with a childish grin.

 

“So what did you want to talk about, _Iza-chan_?~” You smirked mirthfully, placing another delicious piece of nigiri in your mouth.  
  
You thought you heard him grumble under his breath, but you couldn’t be sure. Izaya’s _crimson_ eyes were filled with a dangerous glint, which made you sweat. Seriously, you really needed to filter what you said about this guy. He let out a sigh before turning towards his food, using one hand to sip his water.

 

“Well, I would like to start out by scheduling another _date_ with you,” He said, giving you a smirk. “I think that once you spend a little more time with me, you might be more compliant with my wishes.”

 

“That sounds more like an interrogation than a date…” You gave him a weird look, before going back to your food.

 

“I’ll send you a text later with the details then.” Izaya grinned, eating another slice of the fatty tuna.

 

“But you don’t have m— oh, wait. It’s not nice to illegally take a person’s phone number…You’ll never get a spouse if this is how you try to hit on people.” Shaking your head, you kinda felt bad for the guy. After all, everyone hated Orihara Izaya so it must’ve been extremely hard for him to get a date.

 

“...”

 

“What…”

 

“That’s new. I’ve never heard of a person who has had zero relationship experience give advice to someone who has.” Izaya replied nonchalantly, but you knew that he had a shit-eating grin on his face even though you weren’t even looking.

 

“Shut up Izaya…”

 

Izaya only laughed as he watched your face flush with a light pink hue.

 

“How do you even know that?! Maybe your sources are wrong—“ You huffed indignantly, trying to throw Izaya off in desperate attempts.

 

“Not with the way you’re acting. Plus that was just a lucky guess~”

 

Now even more flustered, you smacked Izaya hard on the back with your palm.

 

“Stop teasing them Izaya,” Denis said from behind the counter.

 

Silently thanking Denis for his small intervention, you resumed your eating still salty about the conversation that had just taken place. Of course, Izaya was rubbing his back, since that slap you gave him was rather heavy. He grumbled quietly under his breath, before taking another drink from his cup. The two of you ate in silence for a while, as you continued to work on the absurd amount of food that Izaya had gotten you. In the background, the door had slid open and you heard Simon’s familiar voice. Turning to send him a wave, you noticed the two newest customers.

 

The tall blonde with a bartender’s outfit caught your eye first. He was accompanied by a shorter man with dreadlocks, who looked rather exasperated. Your hearing caught a quiet curse from the man next to you, which made you turn towards him.

 

“What’s wrong Izaya?”

 

You soon regretted the moment you said those words because something _snapped_ in the blonde man who had just entered.

 

“Is that you _Izaya-kun_?”

 

And that’s when you realized. You done fucked up.

 

Chaos ensued the moment you uttered Izaya's name. Simon was trying to stop the battle between Izaya and this man you came to learn as ‘Shizu-chan’. For the most part, everyone had left as soon as they noticed ‘Shizu-chan and Izaya duking it out, save for you and the guy who came with the bartender.

 

He joined you at the bar as the other two fought in the background.

 

“I’m Tanaka Tom. What’s yours?” Denis handed the man a glass of sake, as you swallowed the mouthful of rice to respond.

 

“(Name). So are those two always like this?”

 

Tom sighed, taking a sip from his glass. “Unfortunately…”

 

“Damn.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // a bit of a longer update this time!! tbh i dont think anything interesting happened this chapter but i didnt want to make it too long LOL


	6. Cakes and Fillers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the predator becomes the prey 
> 
>  
> 
> also noted: filling up transitions with cakes.

        So here you were, kicked out of Russia Sushi before you could finish all of the things that you had ordered. Izaya trailed behind you, texting another message on his phone as you walked aimlessly.

 

        “I can’t believe you got us kicked out of Russia Sushi! What a waste of food…” You complained,  tempted to punch Izaya in his perfect face.   
  
        “Again, if I had known that Shizu-chan was coming, I wouldn’t have stayed.” He replied back, most of his attention on his phone.   
  
        “Well, I’m still placing the blame on you, since you were the one to tempt him in the first place!”

 

        Huffing quietly, you crossed your arms in annoyance. After all that drama, all you wanted to do was to go home and finish your school assignments. And you would’ve if Izaya didn’t promise ~~blackmail~~ you to join him on a coffee date. Everyone knew you couldn’t resist a good cafe; damn Izaya and his excellent bargaining skills. Though you did have the option of ditching the info broker and going to hang out with someone else. Izaya Orihara could wait another day to get information out of you.   
  
        Since he was so busy with his phone anyways, you slipped away, quietly cackling to yourself as you ran towards your favorite cafe.   
  
        Of course, Izaya did notice your absence immediately to which he exhaled a long sigh. Although it would be easy to find where you were since you only went to about three different places, he decided that he needed to do a little bit more scheming before properly adding you to his game board.

 

        Pulling out his other cell, Izaya began a new conversation, quickly typing in a name who owed him a lifetime of favors.

  
        “Hello? Nakura-san? I’m going to need you to be at the cafe, you have another meeting with the lovely Ms. Kujiragi. I’ll send the details to you after this call,” Izaya ordered, quickly changing his course of direction to his apartment, “Do take caution, I do _not_ want you to ruin things for me. Whatever information you get out of this meeting will change the entire game~”   
  
        He snickered quietly as he slipped his phone back into his coat pocket. Even if Kujiragi’s information didn’t align with his own suspicions, he could definitely get the backstory behind this new killer. After all, she has most of Ikebukuro’s prominent figures at the palm of her hand and _nothing_ could stop her from getting what she wants.

 

*

 

        “Aoba!” You jogged over to the highschooler, quickly catching him in a friendly headlock.

 

        “(name)! I haven’t seen you in a while,” The blue-headed boy said with a smile, struggling out of your affectionate grip.

 

        Feeling a bit merciful for the day, you only grinned in return, letting go of the boy. After giving Aoba one last ruffle of the hair, you noticed that he had company with him. It wasn’t his usual crowd, which you were quite certain of, since his two companions was a cute girl with straight bangs and a nervous looking boy.

 

        The girl seemed very familiar, but of course, you couldn’t place a finger on it. Curse you and your terrible memory! You tried to rack your brain for at least a clue to where you had seen her, but you were only drawing blanks. Plus, you were pretty sure that you would remember a cute face like hers. As you rubbed your hypothetical chin, you felt Aoba punch you in the arm, snapping you out of your little trance.   
  
        “Dude, _OW!”_

 

        “(name), these two are my upperclassmen. Anri Sonohara and Mikado Ryugamine.” Aoba said with a cheerful smile, clearly ignoring the fact that he actually hurt you.   
  
        Sticking your tongue out at Aoba, you turned to the other two with a bright smile, holding out your hand for a firm handshake. The two gave you a handshake, seemingly a little wary with your presence. You didn’t mind their hesitance since you knew you would be a little weirded out by a bubbly personality like yourself.

 

        “H-Hello.” The girl had a quiet voice, but you still managed to catch her words.

 

        “Hello!” Mikado, the guy with the super unrealistic name (but who were you to judge?), responded hastily,   
  
        “I’m (name), as he mentioned before! I met Aoba because from the moment I saw him, I knew he would be my muse~” You cooed, pinching said boy’s cheek. “I’m in my second year of college, so y’all better treat me with respect!”   
  
        “Please ignore them. They say dumb things like that all the time.” A scowl flashed across his face before quickly being covered by an annoyed smile. You didn’t know Aoba for that long but you already knew that he was scheming something. Hiding one’s true nature out of respect for their upperclassman was expected, but you knew him and he would never act innocent unless he needed something from them.

 

        “Anyway, would you like to join us for a fun meeting at a cafe, (name)?” Aoba cleared his throat, which you knew to be a bad sign. He was _definitely_ going to get revenge after embarrassing him like that. But you pushed away the thought of your impending doom as soon as you heard the word cafe.

 

        You gave a wolfish grin. “Aoba, you should know that I’m always down for a cafe date.”

 

        And so you intruded on their cafe meeting, which was way more awkward than you expected. It came to your attention that Aoba asked the two of them to tour him around the city, since he was a new student who “just moved to Tokyo”. You knew that that was clearly false since every time you’ve seen the mischievous boy, he was always in some secluded spot in the city where only locals knew existed. You decided to keep your mouth shut about the topic, since you knew Aoba would come after your ass if you exposed him like that.   
  
        “So (name), what do you major in?”

 

        You perked up at the sound of your name, turning your attention to Anri.

 

        “I major in fine arts! I wish I could’ve chosen a better media to work with though.” You sighed, bringing up your fork of cake, “I would’ve chosen something like entertainment design or something, but they don’t have that many courses on stuff like that.”  
  
        “An art major? I don’t know that many people who go into that field of interest.” Mikado sounded curious as he swirled his straw around in his drink.   
  
        “More people want to go into STEM courses I guess.” You shrugged.

 

        Your small group continued to chat for the next hour, talking about generic and boring things that you didn't quite care for. Somehow you got on the topic of the supernatural events that happened so often in the city and you couldn’t help but gush about your tiny interview with the amazing _Black Rider_ , Celty.   
  
        “Have you guys met Celty before?” You asked with sparkling eyes, fully prepared to be met with curious stares and maybe awe since you met a supernatural being like her.

 

        They looked stunned and only gave you a wide-eyed stare, save for Aoba, who only gave you a weird look.

 

        “Who’s Celty?” Aoba asked, clearly confused by the sudden change in subject.   
  
        “You know Celty?” Mikado and Anri said at the same time, making you slightly overwhelmed (and disappointed that other people knew Celty personally) at their sudden interest in you.

 

        “Yeah? I met Celty the other day through Izaya.” You said with a questioning tone. Apparently Izaya was a trigger word for everyone, since after you uttered his name, everyone except you got up suddenly in surprise.   
  
        They all quickly realized that they made a scene in the quiet cafe, so they both sat down with an embarrassed expression present on their visage. 

        “Is Izaya a trigger word for everyone? Like, shit dude... I literally just got kicked out of a restaurant because I said his name in front of a rando blond bartender.” Frowning, you shoved piece of your third cake in your mouth, making a note to never say Izaya’s name in public ever again.

 

        “You know Mr. Heiwajima too?” They all said incredulously, which made you shrink under their intense gaze.   
  
        “Am I not supposed to know these people? Y’all please chill, I’m more confused than all of you combined!” You complained, sliding down your chair so that your eyes could barely see above the table.   
  
        The sudden noise of your ringtone blasted through the ears of everyone in the general vicinity, making you quickly fumble for your dumb loud device. You would later never live this down, since you promptly dropped your phone and fell under the table like an idiot. Groaning, you snatched up your phone looking at the bright display to find out who was calling you.  
  
        Whispering a quiet _“Oh, shit._ ” to yourself as you saw who it was, you quickly got up and gathered up your things.

 

        “Sorry for making your ears bleed like that, but I gotta blast!” You sent a small salute before running out the door with your stuff in your arms.   
  
        Aoba and his upperclassmen could only stare after your figure in confusion, wondering what you had to rush off to do. They were about to go back to another conversation before you busted back into the cafe, eating the last bite of your cake that you had left behind.   
  
        “Now I’m gone! Sorry again!” You said with a slightly muffled voice before bolting from the shop again.   
  
*

 

**_CRASH_ **

 

        Glass rained down from the office building as a lithe figure dropped with the shards, a pained growl filling the air. Smoke had begun to roll in as the monster hit the pavement with a sickening crack. Several cracks had appeared on the bones of the creature as it groaned pitifully. Limping towards the entrance of the alley, it shrank as it saw its pursuer’s silhouette block its escape.

 

        Quickly turning on its claws, the monster ran as far as it could in the opposite direction, its boney tail swinging dangerously behind it. The figure quickly caught up with the injured beast, watching as blood dripped from the matted fur. Drawing a long chain, the silhouette sent several metal spikes through the body of the creature, rendering it completely immobile. The beast huffed and puffed, howling at each and every struggle which only sent an electric shock to course through its body.   
  
_“Let’s get you back home, **Wendigo**.” _

 

        Wrapping its prey in a metal cocoon, the predator dragged its catch back into the heart of its den.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im finally back from my hiatus!! yall miss me???? i finally finished all my exams for the year so im chilling and also woo new chapter,,, its kinda short this time, but the action is picking up in the next chapter!! also hecc this hasnt been edited so sorry for awkward grammar and spellingm dkajfsndkjn


	7. Trials and Tribulations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where the beast goes home

_“Please bring out Subject 0626 into the operating room.”_

 

 

_“Begin Log 137.”_

_“We finally recaptured Subject 0626 after allowing it some freedom and a temporary chance for it to return to society. It was going smoothly for the first year, with little to no...violent activity up until recently. One thing that we should’ve done while it was on the Outside was providing it with sustenance so we could prevent harm to the general public. If we were to do that, we would have to risk our personnel, but it was a good decision to allow it a sense of freedom. On the plus side, we were able to observe Subject 0626 in an unfamiliar environment which will further our studies on short-term adaptation of the creature._

_Our next experiments will remove the Subject from its ‘normal’ life and subject it to several levels of...physical tests. We also plan to take some of its blood, since it has gotten a different diet since we first released it. Another thing to note is that the Subject did make relations with many of the residents in Ikebukuro, many of which we are all very familiar with. Such as the Headless Rider and the info broker Orihara Izaya. In order to prevent them from catching on our trail, we will reprogram Subject 0626 so all interactions with those two will be erased. Thankfully our trials of the new memory changing program have proven successful,  so we can soon put it to use on our new Subjects.”_

 

_GROARR_

 

_A loud thunk against the side of the prison resonated throughout the laboratory._

_“Sir! Subject 0626 has woken up, should we send some men to tranquilize it again?”_

_“Do what you must.”_

_The man turned back to the camera, clearing his throat as several armed men rushed into the holding cell. Static ran through the air as the background noise was filled with loud howls and electricity coursing through an organic material._

  
_“Subject 0626 detained.”_

_“Thanks for your hard work.”_

_As the beast fell to the ground, twitching as another electric jump ran through its matted body._

_“As I was saying, our research has gone very smoothly so far. After several more tests, we can repurpose Subject 0626 to our own needs. I will send a report of any new findings by the end of the week.”_

 

 

 

  
_**“End Log 137.”**_

 

_*_

  
_“How are you feeling today Subject 0626?”_

 

 

        A low whine filled the speakers around the researcher's desk, who wrote down the response on the clipboard he had situated before him. Spinning his fountain pen between his fingertips, he reached for the button, unmuting his microphone so he could resume speaking to the battered beast in the corner of the bare, white room. 

_“I see you’ve made some friends while you were out.”_

        The fur on the Wendigo bristled, as it slowly uncurled from its fetal position. It slowly stood up, the matted fur falling from its body in small chunks. It limped closer towards the window where the man sat, its tail lashing back and forth. The researcher only stared without interest, gesturing with his hand to start the machinery. One of his assistants nodded and pulled down a nearby lever, while the others monitored the beast’s vitals. 

        The glimmering white cell block shifted, causing the monster inside to lose its balance. With a small growl, the subject got up again, only to find its claws covered in burning green acid. It pranced around the cage, trying to find a perfect spot to avoid the bubbling fluids from reaching it, but the unfurnished room did not provide any sort of haven for it. Static and the tormented wails of the beast blasted through, but the researchers did not cease their experiment. Adjusting the earplugs that he had, the head researcher got up from his chair, choosing to observe the readings on the bright screen. 

 _“Bring in the island.”_ He commanded, watching as the flesh melted off of the beast’s bones. 

        A loud whirr filled the cell block, as an extremely small block rose from the pool of acid that was already a fourth of the entire volume of the cell. The monster clambered on to the small block, whimpering as the parts of its body continued to struggle to get on the small surface. The acid remained steady as it filled up the remaining space of the block. 

_“Results of acid bath test?”_

_“Subject 0626 quickly got on the island as soon as it appeared, showing that it still maintains its reaction time even while in excruciating pain. The bones of the beast seem stronger than normal humans since the decay of its bones appeared much slower. However, it seems that the bones are still heavily affected by our acid solution since holes have begun to form. We can conclude that the creature does have some resistance to strong acid, but if let in there for so long, it would perish as any other normal creature.”_

_“That’s good. Clean up the room and return the Subject to its MRT form."_

_“Yes, sir.”_

 The panels of the cell block shifted, allowing the bubbling fluid to drain through the cracks. In between the spaces of the ceiling, an array of metal probes wandered close to the exhausted figure of the monster on the floor. One particular arm contained a syringe filled with a bright red liquid which was inserted in the monster’s remaining chunks of flesh. The body shuddered with a small whine as the fog began to crawl in. The animalistic form of the beast jittered and shook as bones and flesh began healing. As the fog continued to surround the shaking figure, 8 cubes dropped from the hole in the ceiling, surrounding the body in a cube-like fashion. As panels connected the cubes in a glass-like prison, what was left of the creature was a motionless body of a horrendous hybrid between a human and a feral beast. 

        The cube was lifted out of the experimental cell block and was brought up on a small crane that lifted it up into a bigger chamber filled with other similar cubes. Other creatures thrashed and groaned through the walls of their cages as the one with Subject 0626 was lifted into an empty hole in between a gaseous figure with glowing eyes and a large reptilian creature. As the cube was fitted back into the hole, steam pushed from the side of the cube until the process was complete. With a final click, _the Wendigo was finally back home._

 

_*_

 

        Biting his thumb, Aoba scrolled through his phone, looking through the Dollars website. It wasn’t unusual for him to be browsing through the various posts, but this time he was looking for a specific subject. Mikado had been following his plan thus far, but that wasn’t of his concern at all. 

        It had been ages since he last saw (name) and they had not responded to his texts in ages. Of course, the best place to get information on anyone was through the Dollars website, where anyone could respond in seconds. Of course, after the first couple of days (name) was missing, he was a little suspicious. (name) was not the kind of person to leave you on read. So here he was, searching through various blogs of any news of a missing person, praying that there would not be any news of a... recently deceased being. Deciding that his research was taking a little too long, Aoba quickly typed out a new post.

_‘Has anyone seen (name) (last name) recently?’_

        Sighing, he put away his phone, deciding that there was no way that he would get a response to a missing person that quickly. To his surprise, the moment he had placed his phone in his coat pocket, a notification had sounded. 

        Although he would never admit it to (name) in person, he felt greatly relieved to see that the message was a response to his post. 

  
_‘(name) goes to my school! They have been missing several classes lately, but they’re still here.’_ __  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // hey hey ~~ im finally back with a new chapter!! sorry its a bit short, and also a bit late lmao i promise the next chapter will be more interesting !! if its not hopeless filler bc i still gotta work it out kajdsnfksjd


	8. Appointments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which you probably need to go see a doctor

        The afternoon sun shone through the narrow spaces between the blinds, casting light on several particles floating around the room. As the rays shone down, you let out a groggy groan, wincing at the pain in their joints.

 

        You stretched your limbs, making sure that each joint was properly popped. As you got up from their bed, a yawn slipped through your lips as you prepared for the short day. With a tired glance, you noticed that their room was a little bit cleaner than it had been previously, but had no recollection of ever tidying it up. Paying no mind to this odd detail, you trudged to your bathroom, wanting to get the after-morning taste out of your mouth.

 

        While brushing their teeth with a sleepy look on your face, you patted your body, looking for where you might’ve placed their phone. Finding your cell in the back pocket of your shorts, you winced at the bright blue light emitting from your phone. Using your free hand, you scrolled through the stacks of notifications as you continued to brush your teeth. Your finger paused on one of the notifications and with a small tap on the screen, you decided to read through the Dollar’s posts.

 

*

 

        It would probably wouldn’t be a surprise if you mentioned that you were in the Dollars gang. After all, almost every ordinary person was part of the colorless gang. Though to be fair, you didn’t join this mysterious organization until you had met Aoba, who constantly pushed you to create an account. And after ages of insistence, you finally decided to become a member of the Dollars. So you became the user Roku (六), someone who only occasionally commented on posts and participated in the weird events that happened around Ikebukuro.

 

        After you had seen your name - your real name - in one of the notifications, you were immediately curious as to what had been said about you. You noticed that the creator of the thread was none other than your good friend Aoba. Finding what he said a bit strange, you read it out loud to yourself, making sure that you weren’t misreading.

 

        “Has...anyone seen...me?”  

 

        The post was made a week earlier and you found the wording to be a bit peculiar. You knew that you had a terrible memory and you could clearly just be forgetting the past week, but it seemed to be that you had been absent on the streets of Ikebukuro. You highly doubted this was the case, however, since you always wandered the sidewalks of the city after class. So either you had never bumped into Aoba for the week that you were seemingly gone or you had suddenly disappeared for a week without a trace. But then there was also that mysterious comment by a user named _Ryoshi_.

 

 _Ryoshi_ had said that they had seen you in class? Which meant that it was someone that went to your school, more specifically someone in your class. You tried to recall anyone that had or seemed like the person who would go by the online alias of _Ryoshi_. It must’ve been one of your friends, right? It seemed unlikely that someone that you didn’t know personally would respond to a missing person post like this. With intrigue filling your mind, you decided to pay a visit to your favorite (and only) info broker.  

 

*

 

        On your way to Izaya’s apartment in Shibuya, you noticed a sharp pain in your bones as you walked. It started out tolerable, but with every step you took towards your destination, the pain worsened. By the time you reached the door of Izaya’s apartment complex, you felt like your entire body was on fire. Deciding to take a quick break to try and figure out the source of your pain, you located a nearby bench to sit on before your impromptu appointment with Izaya.

 

        You groaned softly to yourself, squishing your arm to find out where the main source of the pain was. Sweat had begun to form on your temple, as the pain flared up. Biting your lip, you looked at the place on your forearm that had the most pain but couldn’t find any exterior wounds. You hoped that it wasn’t a serious medical condition since you were after all still a college student with a low budget. Sighing to yourself as you waited for the pain to bubble down, you wondered about what kind of injury it could be. You knew that you hadn’t injured yourself recently, as evident to the lack of exterior symptoms of pain. So this perplexing suffering was probably something internal, you thought. It could be internal bleeding, but you didn’t think that it would hurt this much. As the pain subsided into something more bearable, you decided that you would ask Izaya if he knew any cheap doctors.

 

        As you trudged up the stairs to Izaya’s flat, you wondered if you would be intruding on anything, since you were showing up without telling the info broker. But then again, he probably already knew you were coming since he knew the movements of everyone apparently. You approached the door, wondering what kind of entrance you should give to the flamboyant broker. Perhaps a flashy entrance would outshine his dramatic side; no, no that would just make him want to compete for absolute attention! You decided on entering normally until you heard a loud crash from inside the room. Bristling with concern, you busted the door open with a swift kick, yelling with a worried voice.

 

        “GET AWAY FROM THAT EVIL BROKER OR ELSE I'LL...”

 

        You trailed off, taking in everything in front of you. There wasn’t much to see aside from the fact that a long-haired lady was attacking Izaya. Not that you cared for the man, but the position the two were in was rather precarious.

 

        “Oh shit. Hahaha, don’t mind me!! Busting through your door-- I’ll just leave now, I’ll come back later..”

 

        You closed the door behind you, but it still swung a little bit open, since your kick was apparently strong enough to ruin one of the hinges. It was a little disappointing that you couldn’t get some information out of Izaya, but it was partially your fault for bursting in without a little bit of notice. That’s when you heard a loud snort come from inside the room. It gradually evolved into a full-blown laugh and that’s when you realized. Izaya was laughing at you. Feeling slightly ticked off, you opened the door again, this time with a deep breath. 

        “Go screw yourself Izaya.” You deadpanned, very close to pulling up the bird on the laughing man.

 

        “Pfft. That was the best reaction you could’ve given me. Can’t believe you cared that much about me~” Izaya crooned, a smug look present on his visage.

 

        “Alright, LISTEN… It was only because I needed info from you!” You protested, trying to justify what you had said earlier, “Also I still have no clue who that lady is!”

 

        “She’s my personal assistant, Namie. She’s quite violent honestly” The info broker let out a sigh, shaking his head with a small grin.

 

        You looked at the brown-haired woman, wiggling your fingers as a sort of greeting. She returned the wave with a glare and stalked off to a different part of the apartment. Shrugging at her lack of politeness, you made your way towards Izaya’s desk, where the info broker was cheerfully spinning around his chair.

 

        “So what info do you need from me, (name)-chan~ You know it won’t be cheap!”

 

        Rolling your eyes, you took a seat on Izaya’s desk since he didn’t seem to have any seating near the table at all. You knew that you could’ve sat on the sofa, but you decided that it was easier to talk to the info broker like this. Of course, you knew it would irritate Izaya, which was always good.

 

        As expected, Izaya gave you a forced smile but said nothing about your current sitting situation.

 

        “Well, here’s the problem Izaya. I know you are a member of the Dollars gang, because why wouldn’t you be, but that’s beside the point. I’m sure that you’ve seen that post by user _Jun_.”

 

        Izaya gave you a bored look, resting his cheek against his hand, “And you’re here to ask me who they are? Or perhaps you’re here to ask if you were really missing for an entire week? That would be a much better question if it weren’t for the fact that you should be able to remember that yourself.”

 

        Pouting, you turned away from the man, nervously sweating.

 

        “Well, you see here…”

 

        As you fidgeted, Izaya burst out into laughter.

 

        “PFFT. So you really don’t remember? I would’ve thought that one would need a brain to create art pieces.”

 

        “STFU IZAYA… It’s not my fault that my memory sucks ass!”

 

        “Then who’s fault is it?”

 

        “My… parents..?”

 

        Shaking his head with a playful smile, Izaya turned towards his monitor, quickly typing in something that you couldn’t quite make out. You supposed that he was searching through his database, but since he did hold an interest in your background information before, you came to the conclusion that he would at least monitor your movements a little bit since you were “new” in town. But if that were to be true, you would have to be a little more careful since he could be invading your privacy at any moment! Though you also thought that it would be handy if Izaya did have notes on what you did, so he could fill in the blanks where your memory failed you.

 

        “Well, I personally haven’t met up you since...When was it, last week? But I did see you a couple of times at your university this past week.” Izaya finally turned to you, a neutral expression present on his face.

 

        “Then what could’ve made _Jun_ write out a post like that? Also is this _Jun_ person someone that I know in real life? And what about this _Ryoshi_ person?”

 

        He smirked, going back to typing on his monitor. “You’re going to have to pay to get that sort of information.”

 

        Frowning, you hopped off of his desk, wincing as the pain from before started to bubble up again.

 

        “Izaya, you know I’m a broke college student, why don’t you have a bit of compassion to help my cause?” You whined, trying to ignore the growing pain in your bones.

 

        “And this is my job, that I get my income from, plus giving away free information is not my style~” He continued in a sing-songy voice, spinning his chair to face you again.

 

        You collapsed to the ground, gritting your teeth as you tried to ignore the unbearable pain coursing through your system. Eventually, the pain flared up so much that you couldn’t suppress the groan that erupted through your lips. As your vision grew spotty, you heard the subtle tone of concern in Izaya’s voice as he called your name.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h-hello,,, im back,,, forgive me for such a long wait for the next chapter :,000 i'll try to get my update schedule sorted out soon

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a comment, i would really appreciate it <3
> 
> i hope you enjoy this little story!


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